I asked a psychologist which celebs would dominate The Traitors, and now I need to see it

We all have our perfect cast for The Celebrity Traitors, and though I’m sure your choices are top tier, there’s got to be a more efficient way of doing it. 

When it comes to fancasts for The Celebrity Traitors, a couple of names routinely come up: People like Andrew Garfield, Judi Dench, David Tennant, Alison Hammond, Gemma Collins, and Danny Dyer. I personally think my picks are better, but I’m keeping those names close to my chest. Cough, Louis Theroux and Philomena Cunk, cough. 

But rather than be ruled by personal infatuations, I asked an expert which household names could realistically do the best. 

Who would make the best Celebrity Traitors, according to a psychologist?

Credit: James Veysey/Shutterstock

To say there’s a psychological element of The Traitors is an understatement, so naturally, I went to an expert. Darren Stanton is a former police officer who is now regarded as the “human lie detector” on shows like The One Show and This Morning. His first pick was Prince William. 

He explained: “At first glance, you might think he would be better suited to being a Faithful because his public persona is built around honesty, duty and doing the right thing. He tends to come across as someone who values truth and consistency, and that could make him seem almost too straightforward to be a convincing Traitor. But I actually think that would be his greatest strength.

“William has developed an enormous amount of confidence in front of cameras and in public speaking. He’s also spent years meeting people from completely different walks of life, so he’s had a huge amount of experience building rapport quickly and making people feel comfortable around him. Those are incredibly valuable skills in a game like The Traitors.”

Speaking on behalf free spins provider Betfair Casino, he noted how Prince William’s natural leadership could serve him well at the roundtable. 

He did have one reservation, though: “My only worry for him is, due to his position, people may be slightly nervous around him and naturally have their guard up. This could make it harder for him to build connections. But if anyone can break down those walls I think it would be him.”

David Beckham would also make a good Traitor 

Credit: Netflix

Having spent decades in football teams, David Beckham understands the complexities of working in a group, the expert argued. 

“People don’t necessarily trust him because he’s constantly telling them to trust him, they trust him because his reputation does the work for him,” Darren told The Tab. 

“His competitive nature would also come into play. Beckham has spent his entire career operating in highly competitive environments, so I don’t think he’d be content simply to sit back and see what happens. This could potentially be a flaw that would get him caught out.”

A particularly jarring choice: Curtis Pritchard

Credit: ITV

Look, I’m not going to pretend that seeing Curtis Pritchard on my screen would not be traumatic, but I’ll hear Darren out. 

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He told us: “From what I’ve seen of him, he seems to like smoothing over disagreements, placating people and negotiating difficult situations. Those are exactly the kinds of interpersonal skills that can be incredibly useful to a Traitor.

“The interesting thing about someone like Curtis is that those qualities would normally be interpreted as evidence that someone is a good Faithful.

“If somebody is constantly trying to calm people down, find common ground and make sure everyone gets along, we’d probably think, “He’s clearly one of us.” He could appear to be protecting the group while actually protecting himself. I also think Love Island is a surprisingly similar game to The Traitors, there is all the same alliance building and backstabbing. I think his time on that show could help him a lot.”

I totally agree with Kim Kardashian being a top pick 

Credit: Hulu

Love them or hate them, there’s no denying that the Kardashians are masters of PR. They’ve spent the best part of 20 years carefully cultivating their images, and that know-how would serve them well in The Traitors. 

“She’s also very good at understanding the power of perception. She knows that the way people perceive you can be just as important as what you’re actually doing,” Darren explained. “So if she needed to convince one or two key people that another contestant was suspicious, I think she’d be very capable of doing it without necessarily appearing to be the person driving the suspicion.”

But the former police officer noted that there could be some issues with Kim being on Traitors here in the UK. 

“The potential weakness would be the British version of the show itself. There is a particular British sense of irony and understatement that can be difficult to read if you’re not used to it. So there would be an interesting culture clash there,” he added. 

His last pick was another Love Island lad, Chris Hughes

Credit: ITV

Though Prince William would work because of innate trust, and Kim for her expert PR skills, Chris Hughes would make a good Traitor for a completely different reason: He’s a puppy. 

“I can’t imagine other contestants viewing him as someone with the ability to be deceptive and that will work in his favour,” Darren said. 

With his Love Island experience paired with his presenting skills, Darren reckons that Chris would be able to build friendships and allies very quickly. 

“The best Traitor isn’t necessarily the person who lies the most convincingly,” he said. “It’s the person who gets other people to reveal information while revealing very little themselves. Chris could potentially do that.”

I’ve got an even better idea: Chris Hughes as a Faithful, and JoJo Siwa as a Traitor. 

For all the latest news and drops about The Celebrity Traitors, like The Holy Church of The Traitors on Facebook. 

Featured image credit: James Veysey/Shutterstock, BBC, and Hulu